


Comfort

by Dazzledfirestar



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Fluff, Food, Friendship, Gen, post trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-29
Updated: 2016-10-29
Packaged: 2018-08-27 16:53:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8409349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dazzledfirestar/pseuds/Dazzledfirestar
Summary: The real fall out would come later. For now, Helen needs a friend and a good meal.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tielan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tielan/gifts).



None of it seemed quite real yet. It would. She was well aware of that. Even her own pain, her own experiences in this seemingly worldwide nightmare seemed dull… faded. 

Of course that could have been the shock too. 

But that she could ignore. Helen buried herself in her own research. In every aspect of the cradle, trying to find a weak point in Ultron that she’d missed. Or Tony Stark had missed. Or Bruce Banner had missed. Even as news of this… new person or being or whatever he was fighting alongside the Avengers trickled in, she kept digging. Trying to make sure there wasn’t some kind of fault there. That this being was on their side though it was impossible to tell, she was sure, just from schematics and math. 

That didn’t stop her from trying even through her debriefs with… well, she’d lost track of the organizations from all over the world that she’d spoken with until she was hoarse. 

“You told me that already. In English and Korean.”

Helen lifted her head, realizing that while she’d been running numbers, she’d been talking on autopilot to her latest interviewer. At least it was someone she liked more than the usual bureaucrats and wannabe tough guys that had been through so far. “I’m sorry, Maria.”

“How long have you been here?” Maria waved a hand at the room. It was a small office in the U-Gen building—most of which it seemed was closed down due to some structural issues caused by Ultron’s sudden disappearance. 

She rubbed at her arms a little and shrugged. “What time is it?”

“7:30.”

“It hasn’t been that lo—“

“In the evening.”

“That’s still not—“

“Wednesday.”

Helen’s eyes went a little wide. “Oh. Well then… I’ve been here too long.”

“I’d say so. When was the last time you ate?”

“Someone put some soup in front of me a few hours ago… I ate most of it.” She was pretty sure the thin, Styrofoam cup was still on her desk in the lab with some rice and broth in it but she wasn’t going to reveal that much yet. “There isn’t really enough time to analyze all this…” she waved a hand over the files in front of her, “and make a good meal.”

“I’ve said that myself a couple times. Doesn’t make it true.” Maria smiled and sighed, leaning back in her seat. “What’s your poison?”

“My what?”

“What’s your comfort food? The thing you treat yourself with on a crappy day.”

Helen smiled, just a little and shook her head. “Philly cheesesteaks.” She saw Maria’s eyebrow creep up and her tired brain felt the need to explain. “There’s a place near where I grew up… Rye Post… and it has Philly cheesesteaks. I always thought they were amazing.” She shrugged, letting out a small laugh. “That’s my poison.”

Maria studied her for a moment, her small smile becoming a smirk. “Come on. We’re going to abuse Tony Stark’s jet privileges.” Before she could argue or point out that maybe flying wasn’t the wisest move just after a city dropped out of the sky, Maria had her by the arm. “We can stop and you can grab an overnight bag if you want.”

Helen looked down at her scrubs and sighed. “That would be very much appreciated, yes.”

~*~*~*~  
The last place she expected to find herself was sitting on a hard plastic bench enjoying what was potentially the best cheesesteak in existence. In Philadelphia. She couldn’t help but chuckle as she took another giant bite. “Where did you find this place?” She asked through a mouthful of meat and cheese and onions. Extra onions. It was perfect. 

Maria took a second to rinse down her last bite before she wiped her mouth and answered. “You know Col. Rhodes? He told me about it. I guess he grew up kind of around here.” She grinned. “Always check with the locals, right?”

“Mhmm.”

“I’m going to pass that ‘mhmm’ along to him. I’m sure he’ll appreciate your approval.” She laughed again, taking another sip from her cup.

Helen smiled as she chewed, letting her eyes close and just enjoying the food. Maria had been right. This was exactly what she needed. This and a good night’s sleep—which she would no doubt get when she got back to Seoul after all this flying around—was going to set her right back on track.

Or at least closer. She’d ignore the rest of the issues until they came up. She knew she wasn’t going to get out of this without some ill effects. She just wasn’t going to focus on them as she enjoyed her lunch. As her mother would tell her, even monkeys fall out of trees. She’d deal with it when it came up.

For now, she was seriously considering seconds.

The conversation slowed while they ate, mostly focusing on mutual friends, silly stories. Anything but the serious problems and crises they’d both have to deal with soon enough. Another order of onion rings bought them a little more time but eventually, they were too full to continue and the quinjet was more than likely needed for something more important than lunch.

“Thank you for this. And thank Col. Rhodes for the recommendation.” Helen smiled as she tossed her last napkin in the trash and the walked out into the street. “May I ask you something?”

Maria looked at her for a moment and nodded. “Sure. Shoot.”

“What’s your poison?”

That got a small laugh from the other woman and she shook her head a little. “I guess I had that coming, didn’t I?”

“I think it’s a fair trade, yes.”

“You’re going to laugh.”

“I promise you, I will absolutely not laugh. I may not be able to fly you around the world for it but I will not laugh.” Helen nudged the other woman gently. “It can’t be any more out there than mine.”

“Maybe not but you’re going to laugh.” Maria sighed and shook her head again. “Okay. And I promise I’m not saying this to be cute. I really love it. It’s comforting and spicy and…”

“You’re stalling.”

“Kimchi.”

Helen smiled. “That is a good choice. You know what this means though, don’t you?”

“No, what?” Maria’s eyebrow crept up again.

“The next time you have a bad day,” Helen nudged her again, “you’ll have to come visit me. I know a great place. You’ll love it.”


End file.
